Roughing Call Riles Ravens

by BeerRun on Sep 19, 2010 11:13 PM EDT

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn't happy about the roughing call on Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

"If that's roughing the passer, then I don't know how you're supposed to get Carson Palmer, a 250-pound quarterback, down ... other than tackling him," Harbaugh said.

The ref who made the call, Gene Steratore, had this to say after the game:

The roughing the passer as I defined it in my opinion on that play is the defender who has driven his body weight onto the quarterback as he‘s tackling him. He’s applying his body weight on there. It’s a judgment call and in my opinion I felt like he had driven himself into the ground with the quarterback.

Former NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira agrees it's a judgment call, but would have ruled the other way.

While referees are instructed to err on the side of safety when it comes to protecting the quarterback, I feel the call was incorrect. Suggs made a form tackle on Palmer. And while he did land on top of him, he did not appear to unnecessarily or violently throw the quarterback down and land on top of him with most or all of his weight, which is what the rule states. I can see why the referee made the call that he did, but to me, it was a normal tackle and not a foul.

As a Cincinnati Bengals fan, let me say two things: one, yup, that call was bullsh*t. Two: join the club.

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Comments

A bad call, sure, but doesn't rival Smith's tackle of a ball carrier ruled to be roughing.

That’s the worst call of the decade.

by jsl413 on Sep 19, 2010 11:18 PM EDT reply actions

i think the reason he got it

was how hard palmer’s head hit the ground. with the NFL all concussion-weary, that’s gonna be called a lot more.

and didn’t we have way more penalties than them?

there’s also the questionable PI on the owens end-zone throw.

RIP Slim.

by brandone on Sep 19, 2010 11:19 PM EDT reply actions

ah. I wasn't the only one

I asked during the game thread and didn’t get a response about why that wasn’t called.

dude wasn’t playing the ball

I could sleep when I lived alone.
Is there a ghost in my house?

by supergrover on Sep 19, 2010 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Owens got hit about 2 seconds before the ball even enters the TV’s frame. It was an obvious missed call.

This is our year!

by Paul Cannon on Sep 20, 2010 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I was about to say the same thing.

Sure it was a bogus roughing call. But certainly it evens out after the botched pass interference call.

by 80%OFTHETIMEIMRIGHTEVERYTIME on Sep 19, 2010 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

that stole TD from us no doubt.

by Throw the ball on Sep 20, 2010 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Questionable? That’s a TON nicer than I would have put it.

Harbaugh’s right, the call was bull crap. But so was the PI that should have given us the ball on the 1 yard line. And with that call correct maybe Ced scores or Carson tosses a TD and we don’t have to listen to all this bull crap about how the Ravens haven’t allowed a TD yet. Yeah, but it’s easy when you cheat and get away with it!

I’ve been saying it for some time now. And I know it will never happen, but I’m going to keep saying in the hopes that one day I’m finally proven wrong. Allow EVERYTHING, including penalties, to be challenged. Use the same standard as other replays, but if a penalty is just flat obviously wrong and there is incontrovertible evidence on the tape to prove it, all it to be challenged and reverse the call.

by FriarBob on Sep 20, 2010 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, bad call. It happens in football. I know the PI has been mentioned, but I think the real argument here is that the call didn’t really change the momentum of the game. In my opinion, and it’s just one man’s opinion, the Bengals win either way.

by Cry on Sep 20, 2010 4:28 AM EDT reply actions

+1,000,000

by BamaBengal on Sep 20, 2010 8:33 AM EDT up reply actions

the ravens play a smashmouth game for years

this is the leagues way of getting them to tone it down a little before they kill someone.

by andyfrombrooklyn on Sep 20, 2010 7:22 AM EDT reply actions

boo hoo

The Bengals have been on the wrong end of this call several times over the last 5 years. Remember the 2006 game VS Tampa Bay after Justin Smith sacks Bruce Gradkowski and ends the game the ref calls roughing and keep the drive alive. Another game in the same season vs Vick and the Falcons a roughing call keeps the drive alive for an eventual TD after the Bengals Brian Simmons pushed Vick down as he threw the ball. This sh*t happens to us all of the time. Now it happens to the Ravens once and there ready the Write the league a letter. If your Ravens didn’t turn the ball over 4 times you would have won the game. There is the reason you lost.

by POGO94 on Sep 20, 2010 7:28 AM EDT reply actions

harbaugh should shut up

the call was not why they lost. they lost because flacco was off and confused. the bengals secondary won the game and flacco lost lost the game. he had two opportunities with plenty of time to win the game. he threw two interceptions. the refs had nothing to do with that. there are always questionable calls during the course of any game that shift the dynamics. the owens pass interference is another example. but the good teams win regardless. particularly if they have the ball at the end of the game with tons of time.

by andyfrombrooklyn on Sep 20, 2010 7:30 AM EDT reply actions

I don't think that call was blatently wrong

He did apply his full weight into Carson while plowing him into the ground. Judgement call and bad break for the Ratbirds. Like mentioned above the Bengals have gotten more than their fair share of questionable calls through the years.

by featherman on Sep 20, 2010 7:34 AM EDT reply actions

It was a really bad call

Not as bad as the Justin Smith call, but still really bad.

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel, is just a freight train coming your way...
@btcoop71

by btcoop71 on Sep 20, 2010 8:32 AM EDT reply actions

Suggs penalty was on 1st and 10! You can't say it gave Bengals 3 points necessarily.

Baltimore Ravens at 05:46
B.Cundiff kicks 71 yards from BLT 30 to CIN -1. B.Scott to BLT 41 for 60 yards (J.Wilson).
Cincinnati Bengals at 05:36
1-10-BAL41
(5:36) C.Palmer pass incomplete short middle to C.Benson. PENALTY on BLT-T.Suggs, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at BLT 41 – No Play.
1-10-BAL26 (5:31) C.Benson right tackle to BLT 20 for 6 yards (D.Landry).
2-4-BAL20 (4:52) C.Palmer pass incomplete short right to T.Owens (C.Carr) [T.Suggs].
3-4-BAL20 (4:45) (Shotgun) C.Palmer pass incomplete deep right to T.Owens.
4-4-BAL20 (4:38) M.Nugent 38 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-C.Harris, Holder-K.Huber.
BAL 10 CIN 12, Plays: 4 Yards: 21 Possession: 1:12.

by BamaBengal on Sep 20, 2010 8:52 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed.

See, this is my biggest reason for why Ravens fans should shut up. They act as though if the right call (or no-call) were made, things would have gone exactly as they planned them. They didn’t expect Joe Flacco to get completely dominated either, so I guess Baltimorons can cut it out with the predictions against the Bengals.

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by Pardon_My_French on Sep 20, 2010 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Regardless

How can you complain about a call that gave up 3 points when you lose by 5. You still have to get to the 35 yrad line to get the field, and an INT isn’t going to get you there.

by jim0ijk on Sep 20, 2010 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Sure,

but most of them are also complaining about the tripping call. Really, Carson went out of his way to get to Lewis’ feet, so that one was shady, too. Either way, most points have been made as to why the Ravens were no “robbed” of a win.

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by Pardon_My_French on Sep 20, 2010 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Tripping call

That was a tricky one too, but I do feel he swung his legs a little more than the laws of gravity and centrifugal force would dictate. That one could have gone either way, but the roughing call was horseshit. Still, we outplayed them from what I saw.

by driff on Sep 20, 2010 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions

A trip is a trip.

Lewis was clearly kicking up his leg to trip Palmer. The fact that Palmer tripped over the leg that was on the ground might just be a moot point.

This is our year!

by Paul Cannon on Sep 20, 2010 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions

exactly...

also, nobody is mentioning the blatant holding on Rice’s big 30-yd run and Boldin’s 1st down jump-ball over Trent. 2 no-calls that went their way.

"Now onto more important things: Punching Errorlando Cabrerror in the fucking tits." -Geki

by GrooveLeg on Sep 20, 2010 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Not to mention

Nuge would have probably hit the 53 yd kick and gotten the 3 anyway. Haha

RIP Slim.

by brandone on Sep 20, 2010 10:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

You gotta fix the title.

It should be Roughing Ruling Riles Ravens…Ridiculously

by Alex Marshall on Sep 20, 2010 9:06 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

ok so without that roughing call it's a 12-10 win instead of 15-10.

"Now onto more important things: Punching Errorlando Cabrerror in the fucking tits." -Geki

by GrooveLeg on Sep 20, 2010 9:51 AM EDT reply actions

I do get confused sometimes as to the QB protection rules

Carso was clearly “in the grasp” on as few plays. Someone grapped Carson by his foot and twisted it. How do you judge what is roughing? When does Vick stop being a QB and become a RB. If he takes off can you tackle hin below the knees? If so when? The league needs to form more concise guidelines but I can see the difficulty. QBs drive this league and they need to be protected but they are still footbal players and football is by defination hitting. I really don’t see an easy solution but one thing is for sure the players and coaches need to respect the call on the field. It is part of the game and I am confident that the refs are doing their honest best. Crying about it publicly afterwards is just immature. Go privately to the league and make sure that they review it for the future and behave with some professionalism.

"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"

by JUNGLEJOHN on Sep 20, 2010 10:20 AM EDT reply actions